Dissonance
by Suilven
Summary: Canon divergence during Biogenesis. Mulder and Scully find themselves in an elevator with none other than Diana Fowley just as Mulder's burgeoning abilities begin to manifest.


_Prompt: Episode: Biogenesis. Canon Divergence: During the elevator scene (approx 12mins in) Mulder and Scully are talking as he is affected by the UFO rubbing. As the group of agents leave the elevator, Diana is left standing with them. The doors malfunction and trap them in together. Jealousy, tension, arguments, and confessions occur!_

* * *

The elevator doors closed.

Then, they closed again.

He blinked, unsure of what had happened. It was like two identical images placed on top of each other and then an unseen hand had slid one of them slightly askew. The lurch of the elevator starting down felt stronger than usual as he tried to focus on what Scully was saying.

"I don't understand you, Mulder. You're willing to pursue any case involving aliens no matter how tenuous the connection. There has to be some limit to your interest... I mean, this endless pursuit of the truth, Mulder it just... it doesn't make any sense to me now."

There was a humming in his ears, a murmur of words just out of the audible range of his hearing and Scully's voice had an odd echo, muted and distorted in places, as though he was a half step ahead of her but her words were still coming, doubling over and tripping on each other; as if his ear drums had become mysteriously permeable and he could hear her both inside and outside his head simultaneously, the words passing osmotically through the thin membrane of his skull and into his mind.

"Mulder? Did you hear a word of what I just said?"

He shook his head a little, trying to clear it, but there was no discernible difference. "No."

"No?" Sad. She was sad, he _knew_ it, he could _feel_ it. "Well, maybe you didn't want to hear it," she said softly.

"No… I _couldn't_ hear it."

He pressed his fingers to his forehead, but they did not nothing to soothe the pressure, the sudden ache of fullness, like he was being held against the sea floor with an unbearable weight of water between him and the sky.

"Mulder?" _Concern. Worry._ He could feel the unvoiced aura licking like flames around the edges of her words as she leaned in closer. "Are you all right?"

"I don't know. I feel strange." His own voice seemed normal at least.

The cool touch of her fingers on his brow brought a momentary relief as she murmured, "It doesn't feel like you have a fever."

There was a soft ding as the elevator doors slid open and several people got off and several more got on. He felt a wave of nausea that reminded him of the last time he'd been seasick, the abrupt swell and plunge of a deep ocean wave, and then it evened out again.

Beside him, he felt Scully stiffen. _Carefully banked anger, the dull red hot embers at the heart of a campfire._ In contrast, her voice was crystallized ice as she nodded at the person now standing next to them as the elevator began to descend once more. "Agent Fowley."

"Agent Scully." Her eyes skated right past Scully to settle on him. "Agent Mul—" She stopped short, her eyes widening. "Fox, are you feeling okay? You look very pale." Despite the softness of her gaze, her words were all angles and sharp edges, barbed wire dripping from her tongue.

Before he could even open his mouth, Scully positioned herself in front of him, blocking Diana from coming any closer. "He's fine. He just needs to sit down for a few minutes." Her lips were pressed into a thin line, an expression he knew well. _Protect. Defend. _

Diana reached past her to place a hand on his arm, speaking to him as though Scully weren't even there. "My office is closer, we can—" _Comfort. Familiarity. He could taste the sweetness of them, but there was a metallic aftertaste, something not as it seemed._

He wiped at his forehead, expecting to find his skin clammy with sweat, and was surprised to find it dry. "No, I'm okay. Really."

The elevator doors opened and the rest of people filed out, leaving only the three of them as the doors closed once more. The stifling pressure in his head seemed to ease a little now that the elevator wasn't so crowded.

"Wasn't that your floor, Agent Fowley?" Scully gave Diana a cool glare.

"Actually, I was coming to look for Fox." She looked at Scully as one might examine a bug before stepping on it. "I ran into something similar to a case we worked on years ago and wanted to see what we could make of it if we put our heads together." Her gaze shifted to Mulder, her expression going from condescension to one of concern. "But now I'm thinking I should take him to a doctor instead."

"I _am_ a doctor."

He swore he could actually feel the tightness of her jaw, the way she had clenched her teeth, and it left the echo of a throb in his own jaw. And then he heard it, as clearly as the words she'd just spoken, in her voice, but Scully's mouth didn't move.

_Bitch._

Shocked, his eyes flicked between the two of them, wishing his head felt less muddled. Had she spoken and he'd missed it? Nothing seemed to make sense. Scully was angry, he could feel it radiating off her in prickly waves of dry heat whereas Diana was cool, a serpent calculating where to strike to deliver the most effective bite. In a stand off between Scully and Diana, he had no doubt that Scully would win at outright confrontation. Diana preferred the more subtle approach, the unexpected stab in the back, if the ending of their relationship was anything to go by.

"Scully's right. I'm fine." The low hum still in his ears and the overlapping effect of his vision were still present, but not nearly as bad as they'd been moments before. "A bit light-headed. That's all." He felt an overwhelming reluctance that he couldn't ignore about bringing up the artifact and the rubbing in front of Diana, and he was sure that Scully would pick up on his deliberate omission. He managed a wry smile. "Not enough sleep last night and not enough coffee this morning I guess."

"Fox, I know that—"

There was a sudden piercing shriek, the grinding of metal on metal, as the elevator car jerked to an abrupt stop, throwing all three of them off balance. On instinct, he grabbed Scully and pulled her closer to him, trying to keep them both steady as the car lurched again before coming to an even harder stop than the first.

He heard Scully's _"What the hell was that?"_ and Diana's _"Oh, God, is it going to drop again?",_ both wrapped in wet tendrils of fear and adrenaline that clung like the cold sliminess of seaweed around his bare calf.

But neither of them had actually _said_ anything.

He felt cold and weak, maybe he _was_ coming down with something… How was he hearing their thoughts? It had to have something to do with the rubbing, it was the only thing that made sense. He and Scully needed to get out of this elevator and over to the university to start investigating this relic and they needed to do it now.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked, looking from Scully to Diana as it appeared that the elevator was no longer about to unexpectedly plunge again. He realized that he had pulled Scully flush against him, her back to his front, when he'd tried to keep them both from going over, and his hands were still firmly grasping her hips. "I… uh… sorry…" He released his hands as she took a careful step away from him.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine."

He didn't need to see her face to know that there was probably a hint of pink creeping into her cheeks, but he was surprised by the sudden flush that hit him like walking into a wall of steam. Embarrassment, definitely, but there was a different sort of heat there, too. He felt a strong impression of what the pressure of his fingertips on her hipbones had felt like to her. Forbidden—no surprise there—but the undercurrent of sheer _want_ that bloomed in his chest left him speechless. Thankful for the elevator wall behind him, he leaned against it gratefully, trying to disguise how staggered he was.

Scully glanced at him over her shoulder, then over at Diana.

_Of all the people in the world, it figures we'd end up stuck in here with _her_._

Scully's voice—no, Scully's thoughts? _Holy shit._

Scully jabbed the red emergency call button and it felt like all three of them were simultaneously holding their breath waiting for a response.

"Maintenance," came a bored voice through the speaker in the panel.

"This is Agent Scully, with Agents Mulder and Fowley. We're stuck in the elevator somewhere between the fourth floor and the basement."

"All right. Sit tight and I'll send someone over to take a look."

Scully turned back around with a sigh. "Well, looks like we're not going anywhere for the foreseeable future."

Diana made a noise of annoyance. _Impatience. Somewhere she has to be._

"Might as well sit then. Get comfy." He let himself sink down to the floor; it felt good to not have to stand.

_Reluctance. __How often did anyone mop the elevator floors? Probably nowhere near enough._ "I suppose…" Scully eased herself down, sitting beside him, carefully folding her legs to the side. _Of all the days to wear this skirt. It's too short for me to be sitting like this, but what choice do I have?_

He couldn't help it—his eyes flicked immediately to her hemline, which was riding up well past her knees, right as she made a vain attempt to tug it down.

"Well, since we're going to be here a while," Diana sat down next to him on the other side, "do you want to go over this case with me now? I was going to suggest going through it over dinner, but no time like the present." She casually—_intentionally_—placed her hand on his thigh. "Of course, we could still do dinner later if you're feeling up to it."

_Like it used to be. _A strong mental image of the little Italian café near their old apartment flooded his senses, more intense than a memory. _Quiet. Intimate. _He could almost smell the fresh basil that grew in clay pots along all the windowsills.

It was a soothing thought, one that would be easy to sink into if he allowed himself to.

_This will be so much easier if he trusts me._

It was like an ice cube sliding down his spine and he involuntarily flinched away from her, making her brow furrow in confusion. Like a slick of oil floating on the surface of the water, there was something distinctly not right about Diana. Something she was trying to hide, and it was about him—he was sure of it now. Maybe he could figure it out if he kept her talking…

He pushed his fingers through his hair and gave her a smile that felt false but seemed to placate her. "Let's run through what you've got." Glancing over at Scully, he could feel her frustration as well as see it in her expression; arms crossed tightly across her chest.

Beside him, Diana opened a folder in her lap and began listing off details before handing him a stack of photographs to look over. Her hand was still on his leg in a way that might have been arousing a long time ago, but now made him feel vaguely uncomfortable. Scully had leaned her head back against the elevator wall, seeming to be deliberately not looking at the two of them sitting with their heads closely together.

Letting Diana's voice fade out, he tried to concentrate his attention on Scully. The more he focused on her and her alone, the louder her inner voice and feelings seemed to become. Like a radio frequency that wasn't tuned in properly, he could make out murmurs and whispers, but nothing as clear as before.

_How can he trust her… playing him… so obvious… I have no right to be jealous… just partners… all we'll ever be…_

Like he was trying to pick out individual notes in a symphony, he could hear tones and half tones of regret, of hurt, of jealousy, and a depth of longing that surprised him; a rocky crevasse too deep and dark to see the bottom of. Did Scully really feel that way?

As if she could feel him studying her, she tilted her chin down and opened her eyes. He met her gaze, holding the moment between them as if they were alone.

_I wish he wanted me._

He felt the poignant ache of her thought settle into his chest, a battered crow taking roost in his rib cage. How could she not know?

There was a sudden buzz from the intercom panel, and the thread between them broke as she looked away from him and up at the panel.

"Agent Scully, this is Stan Atrez from Maintenance. Everyone okay in there?"

"Yes, no one was injured when the car dropped."

"Glad to hear it. The good news is that it looks like an electrical problem."

"That's _good_ news?" Diana interjected.

"Could've been the sheaves. That's usually a much tougher fix depending on how much extra wear there is on the cables. I'm going to be doing some work on the panels, so I wanted to warn you in case the lights go out."

"We appreciate that. Any idea of how long it's going to take?" Scully looked down at her watch and he reflexively did the same. It was already after one o'clock, and they were hoping to get to the university while the police team was still there.

"At this point, no idea. Could be twenty minutes at the best, but it could be an hour or two. I won't know until I've tested the circuits. I don't know how many times I've recommended implementing a proper preventive maintenance schedule but, well, that's bureaucracy for you." He snorted. "I'll try and get you out of there as quick as I can."

"Thanks," Scully said as the intercom clicked off. "Well, cross your fingers that it's minutes and not hours." _I might murder her if we're here much longer than that._

Mulder tried to disguise the look of surprise. He knew Scully didn't like Diana but, based on her thoughts, she absolutely loathed her. He'd never known Scully to have such a strong dislike of anyone… well, as far as he knew from the outside, anyway.

Diana nudged his arm, drawing his attention back to the file.

"So, as you can see in the photographs, the burn marks on both victims are remarkably alike, not to mention the similarities in the locations where they were found."

He tried to focus on what he remembered of what she'd been saying. "I can see why this would remind you of the Delaney case, but I'm not sure. Something doesn't match up between the cause of the death of these victims and the ones back in '83."

"May I see?" _Forced politeness under a roiling mass of dislike._ Scully stretched out her hand as Diana reluctantly nodded and passed the pictures to her.

Scully studied them for a few minutes. "And I suppose you've considered the fact that these types of burn patterns are more consistent with electrical discharge rather than contact with heat or corrosive chemicals?"

"Of course," Diana said smoothly. _You're always trying to act like you're so much smarter than the rest of us._ "But that doesn't negate the possibility that our killer could be using a telekinetic ability to— "

_You can't be serious. _"Telekinetic ability? Really?" Scully gave an eye roll that he was intimately familiar with. "There's nothing in any scientific literature to suggest that it's even remotely plausible. I think the most likely situation is that the killer tampered with the wiring in these businesses in the days before the deaths occurred. Do you know if there was any electrical work done prior to the murders?"

"Frankly, Agent Scully, in _my_ experience, as much as we would like for the most obvious solution to be the correct one, it often isn't. You have to dig deeper if you want to solve _these_ types of cases."

_In _your_ experience, you condescending bitch?_ Scully went from a low simmer to a hard boil although Mulder was amazed at how her face gave nothing away.

Diana plucked the photographs out of Scully's hands and turned to him. "This is why I miss working with you, Fox. Two like minds collaborating…"

It was like the taste of cheap grocery store frosting in his mouth, the years of half-remembered birthday cakes in the time after Samantha's disappearance; unpleasantly sweet and sticky and a little bit greasy.

"Actually, I think having a scientific viewpoint has been tremendously valuable to the X-Files." He felt a burst of happiness from Scully, though her face remained impassive, and he gave her a quirk of a grin. "I feel more confident in the cases we can't fully explain knowing that we've exhausted all the more conventional possibilities."

_A flare of tempered anger and jealousy from Diana._ "I suppose, but don't you also then miss opportunities on the unconventional side? Chances to gather valuable information on the unexplainable that might have otherwise been dismissed?"

"Which is why you need a strong proponent of both viewpoints. If each one is committed to exposing the truth and is thorough in their approach, then you end up with more evidence, not less."

He was needling her, he knew he was, but he couldn't deny how much the solve rate had improved since Scully had been assigned to the X-Files. Not to mention how much he enjoyed their back and forth conversations over whatever unexplainable phenomena he could dredge up for them to debate over, just to see how she would refute his theories. In fact, he was rather looking forward to what she was going to say when he told her that he was sensing other people's thoughts and how flabbergasted she was going to be when he proved her wrong.

"Yes, but—"

The lights went out, plunging the car into complete darkness except for the faint red glow of the emergency button.

There was a soft, "Goddammit," from Scully, but he wasn't sure if it was a thought or something she'd said out loud.

"Well, I guess strip poker is out," Mulder deadpanned into the blackness.

Diana gave a slight cough—_maybe if _she_ wasn't here_—and he would have bet money that Scully gave him another classic eye roll—_in your dreams, pal_.

"Twenty questions? Never have I ever?"

_In front of that harpy? Not a chance._ "Pass, Mulder."

They sat in silence for a while, a silence that was distractingly loud, from his perspective.

Scully's thoughts meandered around from the new case they'd received from Skinner to how the clip from her bra strap was digging into her shoulder blade to whether or not she would have time to pick up her dry cleaning on the way home from work. There was an underlying ripple of anxiety woven through it all, but the other thoughts were pushing against the current of it, disrupting it.

He hadn't realized how random and strange it would be to leapfrog alongside another person's thoughts without having the same internal mental connections. It was like being a butterfly, dragged from flower to flower on a whim, never sure how long one might stop to linger before being forcibly thrown to the next.

He was also surprised at how different Diana's thoughts felt compared to Scully's. Maybe it was the darkness that was allowing him to perceive things more clearly, but she felt more like tangles of rope, endlessly twisting and knotting and overlapping. It made his head throb when he tried to follow it.

_He's never even fucked her, not once. It was obvious. _Mulder could feel the smirk spread across Diana's face and the unpleasantness behind it repulsed him._ God, Agent Scully was pathetic. She wouldn't know how to seduce a man if her life depended on it, whereas she and Fox had a history together that had been passionate and all-consuming while it had lasted. It was obvious he still had a soft spot for her, even though she'd left him under less than ideal circumstances. Not her choice, but it had had to be done. That was one of his weaknesses, always wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt, even when they hurt him. A kicked dog who always came back for more, expecting a different outcome._

Mulder digested this information slowly. He _had_ wanted to give Diana the benefit of the doubt, even when Scully had been adamant that she couldn't be trusted. As much as it pained him to admit it to himself, maybe Scully had been right all this time.

Beside him, Scully sighed and shifted, and he felt her arm press against his.

_We'll be out of here soon. Not alone. Nothing bad. Just need to keep myself distracted._ He had a sudden flash of being stuck in a dark closet, only the faintest line of light beneath the door. The sound of water running.

Without thinking, he reached down and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze, and he could feel the tension bleed out of her.

_Mulder._

It was simply the whispered thought of his name, but he was very sure she'd never said it aloud quite like that before. The warmth radiating from her as she squeezed his fingers back made his heart stutter in his chest. Sure, he'd been a little loopy from the drugs they'd given him when he'd stupidly blurted out that he loved her, but damn if he didn't feel the same way in that moment as Scully appeared to be feeling right now.

She loved him.

It didn't matter what Diana thought of him. Scully had never played mind games, had never tried to manipulate him, had never betrayed him. In a chaotic world, she, and she alone, was the person he could always rely on. His constant. Maybe someday, he would be able to tell her that and she would believe him.

The lights came on again, leaving them all blinking rapidly as their eyes readjusted to the unexpected brightness.

The intercom crackled. "Got it fixed. Should have you moving shortly. There might be a jolt at first, so make sure you're holding on to something."

Mulder rose to his feet, stretching his cramped legs as both women did the same. Diana tucked the papers and photographs back into the file folder as they waited.

"So, dinner tonight, Fox?" She gave him a sultry smile that once would have had him tripping over his heels to agree. "We didn't get to finish going over the last few details. We could go to Lucia's… I'm sure the food is as wonderful as always." She reached over and straightened the knot of his tie, trailing her finger down the length of it once she'd finished.

Scully was staring straight ahead at the panel, as if she were willing the elevator to start moving_. Please don't let me have to listen to this… Come on, already._

He shook his head. "I'm going to have to pass. I've already got other plans."

_Surprise._ From both women.

Diana's eyes narrowed as her gaze flicked to Scully and back again, almost imperceptibly, although her smile didn't waver. "Another night then."

"Maybe." He shrugged noncommittally.

The elevator car pitched, and he placed his hand on Scully's lower back to steady her as she swayed.

_God, his hands are always so warm._

He'd always wondered if she liked it when he rested a hand on her back, a bit of shameless flirting that had morphed into a habit.

Mystery solved.

She liked the contact as much as he did. He was quite sure that, if the lights were to go out again, his smile would light up the whole elevator effortlessly.

Diana, on the other hand, was outright glowering.

There was a ding, and the elevator doors opened.

_Relief._

"I don't care which floor this is, I'm taking the stairs the rest of the way." Scully gave Diana a curt nod and a steely glare before she strode out of the elevator. "Agent Fowley." _I won't let you hurt him _ever_ again. _The thought was as forceful as if Scully had just slugged Diana squarely across the jaw.

"Agent Scully." _Stuck up bitch. You've already lost, and you don't even know it._

"Mulder, are you coming?" Scully had stopped, waiting for him.

"Uh… yeah."

They walked to the parking garage, with Mulder having an internal battle whether or not he should tell Scully about what was going on inside his head. She would tell him he was crazy at first, but he was sure he would easily pass any tests she threw at him to prove it. After that, she would probably want to take him to the hospital for a CAT scan—what if what was happening to him was a tumour, like Modell? It was a chilling thought.

No, this rubbing and how it was connected to the death of Dr. Merkmallen and the suspiciously missing Dr. Sandoz was more important right now. They needed to get to the university as fast as they could since they'd already been delayed by the elevator. He would tell her later. The last thing he needed was her worrying right now.

"Mulder? Are you going to open the door?"

He was surprised to see that they'd already reached his car, too lost in his thoughts to notice.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry." He unlocked his door and got in, reaching over to unlock the passenger side door for her.

"Hey, Scully?"

She made a noise of acknowledgement as she reached over her shoulder for her seatbelt.

"You have dinner plans for tonight?"

He felt her realization as it bloomed to life inside her. He'd made her happy and it felt wonderful.

"Um, no, not really, unless you count leftovers and Law and Order re-runs."

She was looking out the window as they pulled out into the sunlit brilliance of the street, but he knew she was holding back a smile.

"I heard there's a new Thai place close to the campus that's supposed to be good. Depending on what time we finish up, it might be worth checking out. You know, if you felt like it."

"Sure, that sounds good." She turned toward him, that hidden smile blossoming into the real thing. He could get used to this. And, maybe, if he played his cards right, he would have a chance to do just that.

* * *

_For MonikaFileFan on AO3 for the X-Files Episode Exchange (2019)._

_Thank you to my most wonderful beta, Josie Lange, and to the always amazing, OnlyTheInevitable/Gaycrouton, for her mad organizing skills and for all the hard work and love she puts into these exchanges._


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